Review: The Temptations of Anna Jacobs by Robyn DeHart

Reviewed by Shelly

After reading Mia’s story in Robyn DeHart’s first installation in the Dangerous Liaison’s series, I was hooked. My expectations for this story were high because the first one was exceptionally well written. I savored this installment like a fine wine – a read here and a read there; on occasion, I even combined the reading and the wine. But that’s a story for another day. As you and I both know, it’s hard for a follow up story to be as good as the first and I can’t decide which of these stories I liked best. If you’ve not read the first in the series, I’m not going to say that it’s required to enjoy this one, but it will make Drew and Anna’s story a whole lot more to fun read.

Picking up directly where Mia and Alex’s story left off, Drew Foster (Alex’s brother) has been released from prison. He’s been serving time as it was alleged that he was the killer behind a series of gruesome murders. Most of his peers and his mother believe that he’s Jack the Ripper and is guilty of his crimes. Conditional on his prison release, Drew agrees to work for Scotland Yard as one of its undercover inspectors and is tasked with investigating the murders for which he’s been accused. Anna Jacobs is the sister of the inspector, Simon, who recruits Drew and is studying to become a medical doctor. These unlikely people meet under the most unbelievable circumstances and are tasked with not only stopping a killer, but also staying alive.

A good balance of passion and anticipation, Anna and Drew’s story captured my attention from the first chapter. Anna’s voice was fun and thoughtful; she’s quite benevolent especially in light of the privileged surroundings where she grew up. Her love of medicine was only seconded by her desire to help women, not of the upper class, receive medical care. One of the things I liked about Anna was that she wasn’t focused about the injustices, and all the other blah blah things that we can all preach about that were related to women of that time – she just wanted to do something that would provide something of value to those around her.

Anna’s willingness to help Drew with the investigation was a blast. She’s not afraid of too much and when she is, she says it and doesn’t act the proverbial wilting flower. Her medical school teachings helped both the investigation and Drew with the macabre and dreadful methods that Jack had of marking his victim – oh, and DeHart doesn’t spare us in that either. Some of that stuff is just gosh awful but I couldn’t stop reading.

Drew shocked me the most. I was sure I wasn’t going to like him at all considering I though he was such a sloth and waste of a human being in the first book. I expected that he would be full of excuses for his drinking and overall bad behavior. How wrong I was. I liked Drew, I like him so much, and that’s what shocked me. He’s changed 180 degrees since his stint in prison. He proved to be very smart and an overall nice person who allowed one part of his life to take over all of it. He’s one of those guys who I think that prison actually made him a better person because the path he was going wasn’t going to take him anywhere good. His redemption happened because of these murders and he proved himself to be worth all that Alex tried to do for him. His actions towards Anna were honorable and he, thankfully, didn’t try to give her any un-truthful excuses as to his past actions. Yes, he manned up.

I was Team AnnDrew all the way. The chemistry between them was understated and simmering while the investigation went on. Anna and Drew got to know each other before too much hanky panky started which I was so happy to read and it all made sense. There’s a secondary story line between Anna’s mother, Lucinda, and one of Anna’s professors, Mitchell, put a smile on my face. It’s never too late in life for romance, folks, and we get a glimpse of that.

DeHart’s stimulating blend of romance and suspense was just as good here as it was in Mia and Alex’s story. She definitely has a way with the written word. I have no idea how this Jack the Ripper thing is going to work out. I have my suspicions of who it might be but if history is any indication I might not never know who the killer is. I’m really hoping that DeHart will use some creative licensing to satisfy me in the end. If you’re a fan of this series or the author I think you’ll be pleased with this one.